Aoba Seragaki
「まーさーか。そういうのが嫌いだっつってるだろ」 Aoba Seragaki 'is the main protagonist of the BL game DRAMAtical Murder. He is the twin brother of Sei, and the adopted son of Nain and Haruka Seragaki. He resides in the East area of Kyuujuuminku. His AllMate is Ren. Aoba is voiced by Atsushi Kisaichi. History Aoba was conceived from Toue's research, along with his twin brother, Sei. However after being born, by pure bad luck, the two of them had died. Sei was revived after the scientists cut their hair that connected the twins together but Aoba's breathing did not return. Tae, feeling immense guilt that a human had died due to her assistance in the research, took his body away, wanting to at least give him a proper burial. Along the way, Aoba had somehow regained consciousness, relieving her to the point of tears. Not being able to keep him, she drops him off at a nearby church by the beach, hoping he would be better off there than back with Toue. As he grew into a child, Aoba's skin pigment started to gain color as well as his hair, his appearance hiding any proof that he was not born normally. Aoba would often stop and sit at the beach alone with his thoughts. It was there that he met Nain, his future father, who would often talk to him about the world and many other things. Soon after, Aoba is adopted by Nain and Haruka and returns to Tae, much to her surprise. She believed this to be fate and easily welcomes him back into her life. As he grew up, Haruka and Nain were often gone for long periods of time due to them being "free spirits" and not liking to be in one place for a long time, according to Aoba. Tae raised Aoba in their place but she too was often gone due to her job as a nurse. Though they all loved each other without doubt, Aoba was often left alone, causing him to go to the park and cry by himself. It was then that Koujaku came into Aoba's life and became his best friend as well as his hero. Koujaku and Aoba would often play together, since Koujaku's mother and Tae got along well. Aoba was often teased for having long hair and feminine appearance and would get severely picked on, but Koujaku always came to his rescue. Although they did not spend much time together, they both cherished each other deeply. Later, due to family matters, Koujaku left Midorijima with his mother, and Aoba was left alone once again. As he grew older, Aoba finds a discarded, old-model AllMate in the trash that had the form of a fluffy, dark blue pomeranian dog. Aoba, feeling sorry for such a sight, decided to take it back home and fix it up himself. At some point, Ren transmitted his consciousness into the AllMate. Aoba had then become heavily involved in participating in Rhyme, earning a reputation amongst other players. Along the way, he met Mizuki, Virus and Trip. Aoba went under his Rhyme name, "'Sly Blue" and often got into street fights. He became very violent, breaking his opponents' minds and causing permanent damage from using Scrap on them. However, after a certain incident, he was sent to the hospital and ended up losing all memories of his previous personality before. Due to his power, Aoba's mind was divided in three: the Aoba everyone knows, another personality symbolizing Aoba's Scrap power (often called "the other Aoba"), and Ren, whose role was to maintain the balance between the personalities as a guardian. However, after losing his memories ten years before the story; Ren had also lost his, becoming an entirely different entity in the process and believing he was truly just an Allmate. After being released from the hospital, Aoba began having severe headaches daily, which Tae suspected was from Scrap wanting to be released. She prescribed him pills and watched over his intake of them, relieved that they were effective. Afterward, they both began living a normal routine again. Aoba ends up getting a part-time job at Junk Shop Heibon, working as a sales clerk and claims to have been there for a long time now. He had no interest in participating in Rhyme or Ribsteez, declining offers to join teams, including Mizuki's. Koujaku had also returned, overjoying Aoba, and they remain in touch as much as they did when they were kids. Just as Aoba's life had begun returning to normal, the events of the game begin. Appearance Note: Depending on the route taken, Aoba can be seen with a total of two other different appearances, excluding his usual one. Aoba is known, and often commented on by other characters, for his long blue hair which gradients into a lighter blue color. Aoba states that he dislikes people touching his hair because it pains him from the nerves inside. He trims his own hair since he knows he is the only one who is able to ease the pain. He has very light coloured brown eyes, sometimes shown as multicoloured in some CGs. He has a very slim frame and is also noted by other characters of the game for having pale skin. Though smaller and not noticeably fit, Aoba proves himself to be quite an experienced fighter from his Rhyme days. He normally lands roundhouse kicks to his opponents, Mizuki jokingly calling it "Fox's Heel Drop" when he first appears. Aoba has also apparently broken some jaws in the past, something he brushes off as it being years ago. He seems to be on equal fighting ground with Noiz as he was able to block and dodge a decent amount of his blows (until eventually being overpowered). Aoba's default clothes include him always being seen wearing a white and blue Brain Nuts jacket. Underneath is a navy long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans and a blue studded belt. He wears matching shoes with dark blue leg warmers, and in certain CGs is shown to have lemon-yellow socks. He wears a blue and black glove on his right hand and his coil on his left wrist. Aoba's trademark trait is him always being seen wearing large, retro pink headphones that hang around his neck. Back when he used to play Rhyme and went by the name "Sly Blue", with the exception of his wardrobe, his appearance was basically the same. He wore an orange-to-white gradient sleeved, dark blue jacket with a very dull green shirt underneath. His pants were a dark gray and noticeably much baggier on him . He wore a different kind of silver and dark blue headphones, which hung around his neck, and is not seen to be wearing gloves or his coil. In Ren's Route, when Aoba and Ren are confronted by Sei, the other Aoba appears to them as well. It's explained that how they look right then is their true appearance from when they were born. Since they are both the same person, Aoba's true form consists of his body being completely white with black markings that range from his neck to his arms and legs. His hair is much longer and thicker, the tips being able to touch the floor past his feet, and on his wrists and ankles are a set of two white, glowing rings. In the end of Koujaku's good ending, Aoba's hair has been cut short by Koujaku since it has been Koujaku's dream to cut Aoba's hair. It took Koujaku nearly two hours to carefully trim Aoba's hair without hurting him. His hair is cut up to his neck, to which Aoba says that the back of his neck gets chilly and that his head feels much lighter. In Koujaku's bad ending, distressed and in despair over failing Scrap on Koujaku, the other Aoba takes over him completely, changing both his personality and appearance. Aoba's whole body becomes pure white, as well as his hair and eyes. He wears a long white robe with various tassels and large beads that are a contrasting red. He also wears what appear to be some sort of red socks that go under his white and black boots. In his hair, he wears two red hair ties on each side. This version has been dubbed "Shiroba" by fans, "shiro" meaning "white" and "ba" tagged on as the end of Aoba's first name. As with each main character being identified with a certain color, Aoba's commonly associated color is sky blue. Personality Aoba is usually a calm and caring person. He smiles often and is very kind to others, offering his help in any way he can. He can also stand up for himself and know when to hold his ground when he's being insulted or preyed upon, such as when two newbie Bug Bombers attempted to hassle him before Mizuki stepped in. He isn't afraid about revealing his true feelings and can be straightforward at times, whether he knows the person or not. He's shown to be quite the leader, often suggesting methods to their plans and asking questions as a precaution on whether something will succeed or fail. Despite getting involved with many different kinds of colorful people, Aoba doesn't judge others based on appearances or personal preferences. He would rather get to know them better first, showing interest in their personalities and themselves as people. Aoba implies to have dated a little in his time prior to the main events of the game. Depending on the route, Aoba will mention that he has either never been with another man before (usually before or during a sex scene), has been out with men before that only involved touching and kissing, or never even considered the thought of being with another person of the same sex. Besides that, he doesn't question himself or others a lot, often going with the flow of things and how they come naturally. Aoba does become very flustered with Noiz the most, though (due to Noiz's habit of suddenly kissing him in the most inappropriate times), asking him if he played for "that" team, much to Noiz's confusion. Throughout the game, Aoba's choice of words and actions influence each main character to the point of either giving their lives a new meaning or completely destroying them. He's shown to change many of their lives by becoming a big impact on them, whether they wanted it to be that way or not. Aoba has also shown that, just by saying the right things or by simply continuing to smile, he managed to completely change the minds of Koujaku and Mink, both who had plans of taking their own lives at one point. "The other Aoba" is a different story however. Being an entity that represents Scrap, he gives off the impression to both Aoba and the player of being mentally unstable, continuously desiring destruction and mayhem. When taking control of Aoba's consciousness, he loses all fear and has no problem using Scrap as freely as he wants, shown when everybody at the Oval Tower gathering had collapsed to the floor from his power in Ren's Route. He's shown to become much more physically stronger than Aoba normally is, able to actually lay hands on Mink, something Aoba could not do. The other Aoba takes in pain as pleasure, often laughing in hysterics when being kicked, punched, slapped, or forced on. In Koujaku's bad ending, after the other Aoba took over permanently, Koujaku bites through Aoba's arm enough to draw blood. Aoba hadn't even flinched or cried out, huskily laughing in a mocking tone how much it had hurt. In reality, it didn't hurt him at all but instead made him feel good. His masochism is more explicit in the Re:Connect bad endings, specifically Koujaku's and Mink's. In Koujaku's bad end, he has no objections when Koujaku's sharp teeth grazed along him as he gave Aoba oral sex, even to the point of drawing blood. In Mink's bad ending, he appears yet again before Mink brought harm to Aoba, and when Aoba begins to mock Mink to his face, it quickly turns into a brawl. Even though he managed to land a few punches on Mink, the other Aoba was beaten to the ground, laughing and becoming aroused as he did so. His true nature is revealed in Ren's Route as Sei explains that all he wanted was for Aoba to acknowledge his existence. He felt pain and loneliness knowing that Aoba tried to suppress him by taking medication and refusing to listen to him. He is later acknowledged and while he does not completely disappear, he is suppressed and Aoba can now control himself without fearing his berserk tendencies anymore. Story Common Route (under construction) Koujaku's Route Aoba gets up from bed and goes downstairs to see Koujaku sitting at the bottom of the stairs in the dark. They both cannot sleep and Koujaku says how a lot has happened recently so he is worried about Aoba. Aoba apologizes but Koujaku says that he didn't mean to reproach him and tries to cheer him up. Koujaku states that he is surprised by Aoba's power but he doesn't find it as bad as it appears to be. He is, however, surprised at Aoba doing Rhyme in the past and Aoba apologizes again, stating that he truly forgot about it, but Koujaku already believed him. He observes that Aoba must be the one carrying the most pain and just wants him to know that they (himself, Mink, Noiz and Clear) will do anything they can do to help him. Aoba thanks him and Koujaku says that because they're going to Platinum Jail soon, Aoba should rest. He agrees and after exchanging good nights to each other, both retire for the night. The route is continued and there is more information - ''click here. Mink's Route Aoba gets up from bed and goes outside from the house to get some fresh air. He spots Mink with Tori, leaning on a fence. Instinctively, Aoba wants to go back inside but he doesn't want to seem rude and tries to initiate a conversation with Mink, although Aoba's attempt on a flowing conversation fails. He thanks Mink for helping save Tae and for staying afterwards as well, saying that without him and his resources it wouldn't have been possible. Mink replies that he's not doing any of it as a volunteer and that it's all on Aoba's shoulders now. Aoba replies by saying that he remembers his part of the deal and asks if his voice is what he is after. Mink says he didn't believe that Aoba had Scrap before Tae told them but mentions that Aoba's vocal cords were different from a normal human being's, stating that he knows how vocal chords work. Mink explains that he went to find him after their first meeting to confirm this, adding that it's meaningless if Aoba just possesses the power and doesn't use it. Aoba miserably tells Mink that he doesn't need nor want to use the power, the larger man softly responding that that's fine and it's his choice. However, he forcefully grabs Aoba's face and says that Aoba will use the power on whoever and whenever Mink wants. Aoba asks what he wants out of it but Mink doesn't tell him the reason and walks back towards the house. Irritated by his attitude, Aoba follows back shortly and retires to his room, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. ''The route is continued and there is more information - click here. Noiz's Route Aoba gets out of bed and goes downstairs. He sees a light in the living room and bumps into Noiz when he walks in. Aoba asks him why he's there and Noiz remarks by saying that Aoba was the one who bumped into him. Put off by his rudeness, Aoba turns around to leave when he is suddenly grabbed and stopped by Noiz. He asks if Aoba used his power on him during their Rhyme battle, to which Aoba responds that he doesn't remember. Noiz doesn't accept this answer and challenges him to a Rhyme match right then and there, even suggesting that they can do it in the living room. Aoba refuses and Noiz asks if he could use his power however he wants now. Annoyed, Aoba states that of course he couldn't but Noiz asks again if he used it in Rhyme. Becoming frustrated, Aoba says that he doesn't remember the Rhyme battles at all, even the recent one with Noiz. He goes on saying that he wouldn't even know how to fight like he did then anyways which isn't what Noiz would want. Noiz is silent and Aoba tells him if there ever comes a time when he would want to fight him, he definitely will. Noiz finally lets go and leaves for a walk while Aoba retires to his room. The route is continued and there is more information - click here. Clear's Route Aoba gets out of bed and goes out to the balcony for some fresh air when he hears a faint song outside. As he opens the door to the veranda and peeks out, Clear comes down and surprises Aoba. Clear says that he was on the roof and that he's been singing a song called the "Jellyfish Song". Clear talks a little about jellyfishes, confusing Aoba but he listens intently when Clear says his grandfather was the one who taught him the song. Clear then takes out his umbrella and Aoba asks why he carries it around. He replies that he thought the stars in the sky looked like they were about to fall but Aoba can see nothing but buildings blocking the view. Remembering something, Aoba tells Clear that he would like him to call by his name instead of "Master", but Clear insists otherwise. He then goes on to exclaim how cool Aoba was when he wanted to rescue Mizuki (hearing Aoba's other self) but saying that now, even though he's different from before, he still finds Aoba to be really cool. Not completely understanding what he is saying, Clear tells Aoba that he'll protect him and that he'll follow him wherever he leads him. Clear closes his umbrella, gives a polite bow, and motions Aoba to go to bed explaining that he's going to stay up to sing a bit more. They exchange parting words and Aoba goes back to his room. Aoba's bad mood turns into a relaxed one and he falls asleep listening to Clear singing. The route is continued and there is more information - click here. Ren's Route Note: Ren's Route is only available after completing the four main characters (Koujaku, Mink, Noiz and Clear). Aoba wakes Ren up to check his condition, asking if he's really alright. Ren affirms that he is fine and asks about Aoba's state as well. Comfortable to talk to Ren, he lets out his worries about Mizuki, Scrap, his memory of Rhyme in the past and Toue. Aoba tells Ren that he suspects that his meeting with Toue was inevitable and that he may know something important about Aoba. With a lot on their minds, Ren tells him that they should rest and Aoba lovingly puts Ren to his forehead like they always do. They get into bed and, instead of curling up at his feet like usual, Ren curls up near Aoba's face. Both soon fall asleep. The route is continued and there is more information - click here. Happy Birthday Aoba! '' A special event was held in celebration of Aoba's birthday on April 22, 2012 through April 30th. Nitro+Chiral's site had a page set up with the picture on the right. Visitors were able to click on each present Aoba was holding as well as Ren (since he was holding his present in his mouth). When clicked, it would reveal who the present was from and contained a short birthday message from them. They can all be heard here (credit to YouTube user Iris Wu for her rough translations in the comment section!). '''Rens present appeared to be a homemade ticket for a shoulder massage. His message: ''"Without﻿ Aoba, I wouldn't even be in this world. I couldn't have done so many things without Aoba. These are my feelings, so please accept them. ...Congratulations, Aoba." Koujaku's present was a traditional Japanese tea urn and two matching tea cups. His message: "Aaaaoba! Happy Birthday! I've known you for a long time, now. Regarding the present, it was difficult choosing, but if you like it, I'll be really happy!" Clear's present was a set of little jellyfish plushies along with one that can be worn as a hat. His message: "Master! Happy Birthday! Master being born... I'm really, really happy and grateful ! It was really difficult deciding on a present, but if you would accept this, I'll be really happy! Really, congratulations and happy birthday!" Mink's present was a set of hand-crafted jewlery he had presumably made himself. It consisted of native-styled bracelets, a ring and a dream-catcher-looking hair accessory (that greatly resembles his own in Re:Connect) with three feathers dangling on the edges. His message: "So, I guess it's your birthday, huh? Making a huge fuss over a birthday is﻿ something that only women and children do, but... I understand the importance of a life starting. That is... your life is precious. (pauses and then softly continues) I am grateful you were born." Noiz's present was a large bouquet of flowers and what looks to be very expensive cologne. His message: "You... it's your birthday, right? To be honest, I'm not even sure that you'll like the present, but this kind of stuff- whatever. I didn't really know what to get you or what to buy. Even so, once in a while, this kind of changes- I mean, I guess, a new life is a﻿ new life. Well, congratulations." Virus' present was a stylish new pair of blue and black shoes. His message: "Happy birthday, Aoba-san.﻿ We're Aoba-san's fans and are grateful for your birth from the bottom of our hearts. We'd be happy if you liked our presents. It's not really for your birthday since if Aoba-san wants us to, we'd get you a present anytime." Trip's present was a new jacket, styled in the same way to match Virus' present. His message: "Aaaoba. Happy birthday. I don't usually know what to do for﻿ someone's birthday, but Aoba is an exception. Thank you for being born. I enjoyed thinking about your present. I'd be happy if you liked my present- maybe contact me? I'd be happy if I saw you. Well then, bye bye!" Trivia *Aoba's name means "blue leaf". *In Koujaku's Birthday short-story, it's revealed that Aoba is a light drinker and can't hold his liquor. *Aoba is a fan of GOATBED , who also provided much of the game's music and theme song. *It's often described in the short stories and drama CDs that Aoba can cook, but that his food quality ranges from decent to almost inedible (especially when it comes to cakes). However, in Re:Connect, Mink tells him that he's become much better at cooking and very skilled from practicing a lot, which excites Aoba. *When talking to Virus and Trip in the Common Route, Trip mentions that Aoba used to work at a cafe and had to wear an apron with little penguins on them. Mentioning that he only lasted about a day there, Aoba corrects them, saying he lasted a total of three days before getting fired (the reason being unknown). Gallery Aoba.png|Aoba concept art 1.jpg|Aoba's full body reference and accessories from the official art book. concept art 2.jpg|Bust shots and his model shown from all sides. Aoba.(DMMd).full.1140523.jpg|Aoba as drawn by official DMMD artist Honyarara yo yo yo.jpg|Aoba in the official art for Christmas 2012. a boy and his dolls.jpg Aobayupon.jpg|Aoba and Sly Blue's chibi sprites. aobabackground.jpg Aoba nendoroid.jpeg|A nendoroid of Aoba released by Good Smile Company Category:Character Category:Main Category:Main Character